Lacrosse earns No. 5 seed in NCAA Tourney

Cody Jones

05/05/2013

The Gators suffered their second loss of the season in Sunday's ALC Tournament Championship on Sunday, but they earned the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening. Florida will host the first and second rounds in Gainesville this weekend.

The No. 5 seed means the Gators earned a bye during the first round. Denver and Jacksonville will play on May 10, and the winner will take on Florida on May 12. The Gators beat Jacksonville 13-5 on February 13 and beat Denver 15-7 in 2011.

This is the third straight year Florida will host during part of the NCAA Tournament. The road to the national championship isn't so easy. If Florida beats Denver or Jacksonville, the Gators will then face No. 4 seed Syracuse on May 18 or 19 with a berth in the Final Four on the line.

The top seed went to Maryland after a 19-0 season. The No. 2 seed is Northwestern (17-2), who beat Florida in the ALC Tournament Championship after losing to the Gators 22-4 during the regular season. North Carolina earned the No. 3 seed, but the Gators beat them 5-3 in Chapel Hill earlier this year.